"Yeah we are," she said. The demon turned to him with her cigarette hanging out of her mouth. Hisoka groaned to himself.

"Must you do that here?"

"Do what?"

He turned to her. "Smoke."

Jessie shrugged. "I like it."

"I don't want my room to smell like an ashtray!"

"So? Open the window."

"That doesn't help."

"My bad."

Hisoka sneered to himself. "Yeah, it is."

Jessie pretended not to hear him as she turned the cigarette in her mouth. "Anyway, we are alike."

Hisoka frowned. "How?"

She lay back on his bed. "Abandoned, unloved, rejected, and lonely."

Hisoka gritted his teeth. "That's not true."

Jessie glanced at him. "Oh?"

He clenched his fists. "You don't know anything about me!"

"I don't?" She blew smoke from her mouth. "I know a little bit about you." She spoke when he said nothing. "You're all of those things I said."

"How?"

Jessie smirked at herself. "You love him, don't you?"

"What?"

"Do you love Tsuzuki or not?" she asked. Hisoka froze. That again? She knew how to stick it to him. He lowered his head.

"Ah," Jessie said. "So it is true."

"And what if it is?" he asked.

"That's nice," she said. "Ah, it's so good to be in love. Too bad it never works out."

Hisoka whipped around to her. "What do you mean?"

Jessie shrugged her shoulders. "I'm only telling the truth."

Hisoka felt like throwing up. The reality kept on stinging. Jessie turned her head to him.

"Face it," she said. "You and I are alike." Hisoka gave it his all not to scream. Maybe she was right. He shut his eyes to deny that thought. No! I refuse to be like that. She's wrong!

"But am I?" she asked. Hisoka pressed his lips together and lowered his head. Jessie gave him a smile of fake sympathy.

"You poor soul," she said.

"Shut up," Hisoka hissed. She flicked out her cigarette.

"Aww," she said. "That's not nice! Besides, I only want to help."

Hisoka snorted. "You have a funny way of doing so."

"The truth hurts, but there is a way to soothe the pain."

"How?" the shinigami asked.

Jessie snubbed out her cigarette against the wall. "Come here and I'll show you." Hisoka didn't buy it, but what else could he do? He got up from the window and walked over to his bed. Jessie pulled him down to her, grinning. Hisoka still looked skeptical.